Washington, D.C. -- Senator Daniel K. Akaka is urging the Department of Defense to further investigate the results of a study that examined U.S. Army Gulf War veterans possibly exposed to chemical munitions in 1991. The results were released yesterday by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The study examined the records of more than 350,000 deployed Army personnel that were possibly exposed to chemical agents during the destruction of weapons in Khamisiyah, Iraq.

The most worrisome finding is a possible relationship between exposure to sarin, a chemical nerve agent, and developing brain cancer. Servicemembers who served in or around the area where the weapons were destroyed were twice as likely to develop brain cancer than servicemembers serving outside the area. The Institute of Medicine said that their study does not definitively establish that exposure to sarin causes brain cancer and that further study is needed.

Senator Akaka said, "Our veterans, who served honorably in the Gulf War, deserve additional studies into this issue. If through these inquires exposure to sarin is deemed to cause brain cancer, then the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should act to make brain cancer due to sarin exposure a compensable disability by adding it to the presumptive list."

The Senator recommended that the Institute of Medicine work closely with veterans service organizations to ensure transparency and accurate information is provided to our veterans.